CEG Economic Development Week in Review – February 18 – February 22, 2019

Stay up-to-date on business and economic development happenings in the Capital Region with the CEG Economic Development Week in Review. Don’t miss out on the developments that are transforming the region by following us on:

“The $300 million artificial intelligence center that New York state is establishing at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany in partnership with IBM is expected to create 326 new computer chip industry jobs over the next five years.

In its deal with the state announced on Feb. 7, IBM has committed to spend $2 billion over the next five years on research and development in Albany and at its main research lab in Yorktown Heights on both the AI center and the Center for Semiconductor Research, a long-standing computer chip research program at SUNY Poly.”

“Skilled labor employers have been feeling the shortage of qualified workers in the area for years now, according to Griff Thomas, an operations manager at Miller Mechanical Services in Glens Falls.

One place Thomas has found qualified candidates recently is graduates from the BOCES welding program. Miller Mechanical currently has five graduates of the program, some of whom were hired right out of high school.”

“The state is getting ready to seek construction bids to build the new $750 million Wadsworth Center in Albany.

Wadsworth, the state’s public health lab that does everything from rabies testing to research on spinal cord injuries, traces its roots back to 1901 when the state created an antitoxin lab that developed treatments for diseases such as diphtheria and anthrax.”

“The Albany International Airport will install a $1.4 million photovoltaic solar array with funding from New York state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday. Another $1 million in state funds will be used for a new aircraft hangar at Schenectady County Airport.

Saratoga County Airport has received $719,000 to build a storage building for snow removal equipment, while Columbia County Airport will spend $510,000 in state funds on a new airport fueling facility.”

“A regional economic initiative to bring biomedical innovations to market was awarded a $250,000 economic development grant Wednesday by National Grid.

The Biomedical Acceleration and Commercialization Center at Albany Medical College received a grant from National Grid to provide direct financial assistance to BACC biomedical startup companies for commercialization needs and access to experts.”